Psychosocial work factors and diabetes: what is known and what is left to know?

The ‘International Federation of Diabetes’ stress that efforts to prevent and manage the alarmingly increasing burden of diabetes are crucial. These efforts now need to be deployed beyond the prevention of traditional risk factors, by identifying new social and environmental modifiable risk factors, including psychosocial work factors. Over the past decade, a growing body of research has evaluated the effect of psychosocial work factors on diabetes incidence. This paper briefly presents what is known on this topic. Then, key areas where research needs to expand to provide a more comprehensive and more valid quantification of the effect of these psychosocial factors on diabetes are presented. We aim to stimulate high quality future research on psychosocial work factors and diabetes, a promising avenue for primary prevention.